Among the species of the universe, dog is the only animal that lives in close affinity with man. With due regard to other species, I venture to state that the dog is intelligent, devoted and useful. No other animal has invaded the home of man and has come to stay with him almost like a member of his family, than the dog. I sometimes used to wonder why the dog has not yet been officially recognized as a member of the “family” of man under various Rules and Regulations. This is a recognition long over-due. I think the SPCA should take up this matter at appropriate levels. The time has come for this humble creature to demand its rightful share of recognition in society. Here is an instance of virtue and service to humanity being callously overlooked. Once in a while, the newspapers have, of course, flashed news about the devotion and loyalty of a dog to its master. I still remember the news about the dog, which died within a few days after the death of its master. Apart from eulogizing the dog, nothing tangible has been done worthy of its greatness.
Dogs fall into the elusive group of species, which defy standards in size, color, appearance and features. There are as many varieties, from pint-size to giant-size, as can be imagined. Stray and street dogs are the most common and the most downtrodden in the world of dogs. They live home-less, aimless and without any adequate security measures against old age, sickness, physical handicap and other essential, basic canine requirements. It is nobody’s concern how he or she ekes out his or her living. To crown their difficulties, they are not united. Unfortunately dogs have never learnt the art of living in harmony and unity. They are leading an incongruous life of squabbles, broil and polemics as die-hard "dissidents. "
Each dog chooses to live within certain specific and self-demarcated areas in an area, under its own jurisdiction and would never allow any other “outsider” dog to trespass this area, or commit “naked aggression” against their terrain. These dogs are extremely ‘boundary-conscious’ and the moment an out-sider is sighted, they rush to challenge the intruder at the demarcated boundary line itself. The defiance starts with ‘oral’ protests by means of a growl, followed by and attack in self defence to maintain and uphold the sanctity of the territory. They fight ‘tooth & nail’ irrespective of whether they are in the street, or temple or inside houses or even under the parked vehicles. The battle is won when the dog runs away wailing and limping. The return of the victorious vanquisher to its HQrs is a sight worth seeing. {I recall Shakespeare’s description of the return of victorious Julius Caesar to Rome after conquering Pompeii.}. Traces of triumph over aggression can be seen in the ‘patriotic’ face of the dog. Modern trends in world affairs have also crept in canine affairs, when you find a dog giving “VISA” to some dogs to cross their territory, only after sufficient nose-to-nose inquiries at the border, regarding intentions, duration etc., These dogs have their own constitutions, bye-laws and codes of conduct. They have a universal dislike for donkeys, buffalo, pigs and motorcycles, intruding into their territory. And they never conceal their dislike. In the streets, they keep an eternal watch over latecomers in the night and make public their nocturnal arrival. I can’t image anyone else exercising voluntarily such complete control over everything in his domain.
During summer, the dog’s life is really “ a dog’s life”. The Municipality is their enemy as they proceed to impound dogs during this season when they are reported to show signs of lunacy due to heat wave. It is a pathetic sight to see the stray and unlicensed dogs of the street, battling for survival. It is also a battle of wits. The blessings of evolution, has shown signs of recognition of the impending event. It seems the secret of the arrival of Municipal-van spreads like wildfire through various channels of information and each dog faces the challenge in a fighting or escaping mood, displaying superb skill and strategy never seen before. Some fought lonely battle quite tenaciously and some meekly surrendered and the others were simple caught prisoners by skilled and trained “catchers”. The smart ones contrived to escape from their territory, only to return later. There was the giant cage of the van where the imprisoned dogs were lodged to be taken away from their motherland. It was a unique sight. The dogs were furious, forlorn, bruised and exhausted. Each one looked dejected and despondent but retained a look of aloofness and an air of superiority reminiscent of their recent past. Even deposed Dictators would not have looked otherwise. The cage on wheels moved away and I don’t know what happened to these dogs but we were rid of their reign of terror and nuisance. The children heaved a sigh of relief and moved freely in the street. The nocturnal latecomers had a respite and there was total silence during the night.
Quite recently, I witnessed a thrilling scene in a street junction. For no reason s far as I could discern, two tenacious dogs of equal strength and determination chose to convert the road junction into a battlefield. Soon a crowd of dogs belonging to various street joined the fray, not knowing exactly against whom and for what they have joined the fight. It was an ambiguous alliance (true to modern way of governing) of groups of dogs, engaged in chaotic fighting. The pedestrians vacated enough space, cyclists stood-by and the automobiles managed to wade through. The traffic constable found himself surrounded by vicious and belligerent dogs taking control of the field of his duty. The fight became high-pitched and the traffic junction stood still, watching the macabre scene of wailing and bleeding dogs. Someone threw a stone and an old man threw an empty tin to enforce a truce. The dogs got further provoked into frenzied fighting. The place became too hot when a few extra dogs also arrived from far off places and hell broke loose. Suddenly a dog broke away from the battlefield and bolted towards a nearby lane. Another disentangled from the fight and pursued the escaping dog, followed promptly by others escaping in different directions. In a split second, the junction was rid of dogs and the road was clear for traffic. The constable heaved a sigh of relief. The crowd of spectators of the greatest show of the town began to melt. Someone approached the constable and enquired what it was all about. “What do I know.. Better ask the dogs” He was right.
That is the story of street dogs, in a nutshell. That is why they are called “under-dogs” of society. But their counterparts, elsewhere in the world, live a life of luxury, comfort and care, inside mansions and villas. They eat specially manufactured biscuits, meat and other snacks. Doctors specialized in canine health attend to their ailments. Some dogs have taken up carriers and proved their talents and skill in those fields. Police dogs, hit the headlines when they solve the mysteries of crime. In modern days, bomb-detecting dogs have reached the pinnacle of their lifetime achievements. Some dogs have attained fame in films, doing miraculous feats, never before done by any living dog. Some of them travel in cars, air-conditioned coaches and airplanes. These are the dogs that have come up in their life, the hard way. They have picked up refined habits and conduct and they do not mix with the strays. If you see such a dog coming out of a mansion, with the master of the house, for an evening walk, you can even notice how the dog pull its master leading him to its place of choice. Imagine the hold it has on its Master…. Such a dog relaxing in the front seat of Rolls Royce would not even show recognition or wag its tail out of courtesy, when a stray looks at it in wonder. They have moved up in their hierarchy.
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P U P P Y L O V E
When we moved to our new house, the brown dog came to visit us. By his looks and conduct, he appeared to be in charge of the area. A few days later, he brought a bitch with him, a black + white beauty, as if to introduce us. Looking at my friendly gesture, the bitch swayed her tail left and right and in a few minutes her entire body was swaying in happiness. I gave her something to eat. A few days later I found her with her litter, behind my house. There were eight puppies, the bigger one in brown and the others black and white. They had not opened their eyes yet. Normally the mother will be very protective and ferocious at this time, but I was exempted and could move in close quarters.
After a fortnight, she started going out for her rounds leaving the puppies alone. She came back at regular intervals to feed the puppies. I kept an eye on them during her absence. When the rains came, I made a shelter for them and shifted the puppies. As they grew, I started playing with the naughty puppies and had a wonderful time.
One day my friend came with his grandson and they played with the puppies. The boy wanted the brown puppy and they carried it in a bag stealthily, without attracting the attention of the mother. The bitch came and fed the puppies and I was surprised that it did not notice the missing brown puppy. If she had missed it, she did not show it. Everything appeared to be normal sans hue and cry for the missing puppy.
My friend was staying three streets away from my house. In the night I went and saw the boy playing happily with the brown puppy. I was happy that the puppy found a caring home. Early in the morning, my friend phoned to inform me that the puppy is missing. I went to his house and they were searching everywhere. He had kept it under a bamboo basket outside his house in the night. The puppy was moaning the whole night.
I was very angry with him for having left the puppy unattended. Perhaps some cat might have carried it away. My friend was feeling guilty. I did not know how to face the bitch. I went home totally dejected. I saw the bitch wagging her tail as usual at my sight, quite unaware of the mishap. I was upset with culpable feeling at her blissful ignorance of the catastrophe. I went to her shelter and to my surprise; I saw the brown puppy there. I was astonished. It was there playing with his siblings with great abandon and frolic.
I phoned my friend and broke the good news. He came
running to see. The black beauty was swaying her tail, as usual and I was able to understand from her looks that she knew everything about the missing puppy. No wonder, she went sniffing around the colony and located the moaning puppy and brought it back safely, all the way to her shelter, by holding it in her mouth. If she had anything to complain about the questionable episode, she did not even show any sign of it.
HATS OFF TO MOTHERS OF THE WORLD.....
ERROR THE TERROR
That is the truth about my mind-set. You can't blame me for that.
That is how I grew up.
Life has offered me this experience in relation to dogs. You will naturally try to convince me that not every dog that exists is dangerous. While a very few would be potentially risky and avoidable, most of the dogs are actually very friendly and playful. I cannot accept it, because I know. You do not know.
Now in every chance encounter I had with a dog in my future life, I re-lived the experience of terror, regardless of the disposition of that particular dog. If I happen to run into any dog and if it makes any movement towards me, even a sly glance, I experienced the shiver of an electric shock. I perceived that movement as an impending attack. My body language might have even induced it unwittingly to growl at me. In fact I was so much obsessed with the fear of being attacked by dogs that I was all the time trying to scan the entire surroundings for dogs, before I darted out.
Consequently, in course of time, my senses became attuned to picking up their scents and sounds. Every time I saw or heard a growl or bark, my mind and memory went through another terrifying experience, reinforcing my earlier fears. The focus of my attention was always, the object of my fears. The perverse mechanism of my mind always took me off the track for so long that I never understood that what I have learned is fear psychosis, relapsing to the back waters of regression, retro-regression......
A chance encounter dismantled the entire edifice of my built up psychosis. I at once realised that what I learned is wrong, an error... viz., that all dogs are dangerous and waiting to bite me. I believed that my terror is coming from the dogs roaming outside. I did not realise that it was emanating from the dog lodged inside of me. The threat of terror is not from the dogs, but from my own MIND-SET. The source of the fear was from my mind. Once I realised that, I was free from the cage in which I was entrapped
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